The Times, They Are A-Changin'

AOL informs me that they are shutting down the blogs.  Will be moving this daily diatribe to whatever before the end of the month. 

Also, the last of our fishies went the way that all fishies eventually go...  Don't know how the little thing could be expected to live in a mixing bowl for long.  He looked so depressed.  Nathan wanted the children to have their fish HERE because THIS is where they live and they could see them every day.  Well...I had to tell the kids that the fish was dead.  That's how much they paid attention to it!  It was belly-up for a day before I told them, just to see if they'd notice.  They didn't.  So much for that!

Meg has been getting Ryan in bed by 7:30 each evening this week.  He hasn't been napping at Grandma's, and we really do believe that (so far, at least) it has made a difference in his behavior to get the extra sleep.  He resists, of course, but generally not for long.  In any case, it sure is easier to have a decent evening once he is down for the night.  He really is a sweet little guy, until the Demon of Holy Terrors takes over... 

We are down to the last three days of the first grading period at school.  I have been grading and entering scores on Harmony like mad.  (Harmony is a software program that allows parents to get online and see how their kids are doing.)  Week after next, we will have parent conferences, then Fall Break.  I look forward to getting that busy week over with!

We really have had some pleasant days.  Cool in the mornings but warm in the afternoons.  Haven't had to turn the heat on yet.  (There were a couple of days when I thought I would have to because the house seemed too cold when I came home in the afternoon...but the process of cooking dinner and getting everyone back home warmed things up.)  "Dr. Dirt"--a horticulturist on WIBC radio--says we have had perfect conditions for brilliant fall colors...and the trees are turning.  I can't believe that this coming weekend is the first weekend of the Covered Bridge Festival in central Indiana.  How the time doth fly!

One of my colleagues, the 7th grade English teacher in the room right next to mine, has what his doctors call terminal cancer that began in a kidney.  He and his wife (who teaches French in the adjoining high school) are absolutely charming people with 3-year-old twins and an infant.  Rich was telling me today that we were being given an extra year of an online paper-grading software item because the company that we bought our new textbooks from was slow in getting information to us.  He said, "That means we will have it for eight years."  I looked at him and said, "I hope I live that long."  He said, "Yeah...me, too."  We tapped knuckles in a kind of pact.  All things considered, I hope I can retire or give up the ghost before he loses his fight.  He's only 35.

One of my ham friends came over tonight with a nightstand that goes with a bed that he gave us for Robin.  He was accompanied by his fiancee.  Long-time bachelor, KB9RDO, is getting married this month!  It will be a huge adjustment for him, but he deserves the companionship.  Best wishes, Mike!

Gotta go figure out how to transfer my blog to the new blog space.  Stay tuned...